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Set
Set
Sutekh
in hieroglyphs

In Ancient Egyptian mythology, Set (also spelled Seth, Sutekh or Seteh) is an ancient god, who was originally the god of the desert, storms, and chaos. Egyptian hieroglyphs (ˈhaɪərəʊɡlɪf from Greek grc-Grek ἱερογλύφος " sacred carving " also hieroglyphic = grc-Grek Ancient Egyptian religion encompasses the various religious beliefs and rituals practiced in Ancient Egypt from the predynastic period until the adoption of Christianity A desert is a Landscape or region that receives very little precipitation. Because of the developments in the Egyptian language over the 3,000 years that Set was worshipped, by the Greek period, the t in Set was pronounced so indistinguishably from th that the Greeks spelled it as Σεθ (Seth). Egyptian is an Afro-Asiatic language most closely related to the Berber, Semitic, Somali and Beja languages

Contents

Origins of name

The exact translation of Set is unknown for certain, but is usually considered to be either (one who) dazzles or pillar of stability, one connected to the desert, and the other more to the institution of monarchy. A monarchy is a Form of government in which supreme power is actually or nominally lodged in an individual who is the Head of state, often for life or It is reconstructed to have been originally pronounced *Sūtaḫ based on the occurrence of his name in Egyptian hieroglyphics (swtḫ), and his later mention in the Coptic documents with the name Sēt. Egyptian hieroglyphs (ˈhaɪərəʊɡlɪf from Greek grc-Grek ἱερογλύφος " sacred carving " also hieroglyphic = grc-Grek Coptic or Coptic Egyptian ( MetRemenkīmi) is the final stage of the Egyptian language, a northern Afro-Asiatic language spoken in Egypt

Desert god

Set represented in the tomb of Thutmose III. Set holds a scepter of was (Set-Staff) in his left hand.(KV34)
Set represented in the tomb of Thutmose III. Thutmose III (sometimes read as Thutmosis or Tuthmosis III and meaning Thoth is Born) was the sixth Pharaoh of the Eighteenth Set holds a scepter of was (Set-Staff) in his left hand. (KV34)

Set was the god of the desert. Tomb KV34 in the Valley of the Kings (near the modern-day Egyptian city of Luxor) was the final resting place of 18th dynasty Pharaoh Set was viewed as immensely powerful, and was regarded consequently as the chief god. Set carried the epithet, "His Majesty", shared only with Ra. Ra (pronounced Rah and sometimes as Rê, is an Ancient Egyptian sun god. Another common epithet was, of great of strength, and in one of the Pyramid Texts it states that the king's strength is that of Set. The Pyramid Texts are a collection of ancient Egyptian religious texts from the time of the Old Kingdom. As chief god, he was patron of Upper Egypt (in the South- upstream), where he was worshiped, most notably at Ombos. Upper Egypt (صعيد مصر Sa'id Misr) is a narrow strip of land that extends from the cataract boundaries of modern-day Aswan to the area between This article is about the Egyptian village See also Naqahdah for the fictional element from the Stargate setting The alternate form of his name, spelled Setesh (stš), and later Sutekh (swtḫ), designates this supremacy, the extra sh and kh signifying majesty. Majesty is an English word derived ultimately from the Latin Maiestas, meaning Greatness.

Set formed part of the Ennead of Heliopolis, as a son of the earth (Geb) and sky (Nut), husband to the fertile land around the Nile (Nebt-het/Nephthys), and brother to death (Usir/Osiris), and (Aset/Isis, the wife of Osiris) and father of Anubis. For the neo-Platonist work by Plotinus see Enneads. For the Latin epic see Aeneid. Heliopolis (or On) ( Greek: or) meaning sun-city was one of the most ancient cities of Egypt, and capital of the 13th Lower Egyptian nome Geb (pronunciation as such from the Greek period onwards formerly erroneously read as Seb) or Keb (in Egyptian originally Gebeb/Kebeb meaning probably In the Ennead Mythology, Nut (alternatively spelled Nuit, Newet and Neuth was the goddess of the Sky. In Egyptian mythology, Nephthys is the Greek form of an epithet (correctly spelled Nebet-het, and Nebt-het, in Transliteration from Osiris ( Greek language, also Usiris; the Egyptian language name is variously transliterated Asar, Aser, Ausar, Ausir Isis is a goddess in Ancient Egyptian religious beliefs and is celebrated in their mythology as the ideal mother and wife patron of nature and magic friend of slaves sinners Anubis is the Greek name for a Jackal -headed god associated with Mummification and the afterlife in Egyptian mythology.

The word for desert, in Egyptian, was Desheret, which is very similar to the word for red, Desher (in fact, it has the appearance of a feminine form of the word for red). Egyptian is an Afro-Asiatic language most closely related to the Berber, Semitic, Somali and Beja languages In Linguistics, grammatical genders, sometimes also called Noun classes are classes of nouns reflected in the behavior of associated words every noun must belong Consequently, Set became associated with things that were red, including people with red hair, which is not an attribute that Egyptians generally had, and so he became considered to also be a god of foreigners. This article is about people with red hair also sometimes called redheads

Set's attributes as desert god led to him also being associated with gazelles, and donkeys, both creatures living on the desert edge. A GAZelle (ГАЗе́ль is a series of mid-sized Trucks Vans and Buses made by Russian car manufacturer GAZ. The donkey or ass, Equus asinus, is a member of the Equidae or horse family and an odd-toed ungulate. Since sandstorms were said to be under his control as lord of the desert, and were the main form of storm in the dry climate of Egypt, during the Ramesside Period, Set was identified as various Canaanite storm deities, including Baal. The Ramesside Period encompasses the Nineteenth and Twentieth dynasties of Ancient Egypt. Canaanites redirects here For the 1940s social and political movement in Israel, see Canaanites (movement. Ba'al (pronounced; Hebrew בעל (ordinarily spelled Baal in English is a Northwest Semitic title and honorific meaning "master" or "lord"

Set was regarded as a fierce warrior. It was he who protected Ra on the solar barque, slaying the chaos serpent, Apep each day to allow the sun to rise. Ra (pronounced Rah and sometimes as Rê, is an Ancient Egyptian sun god. "Sun god" redirects here For the Ramsey Lewis album see Sun Goddess (album. Combined with an association with the destructive and irresistible power of storms and the desert, Set became the patron deity of soldiers, who often wore Set amulets, hoping to acquire similar destructive force, or Set's infinite protection.

A faience amulet representing Set, often worn by soldiers.
A faience amulet representing Set, often worn by soldiers. For the architectural material see Glazed architectural terra-cotta.
Scepters of Was represent Set. They are held by gods, priests, & pharaohs as a symbol of power.
Scepters of Was represent Set. Was ("power" scepters represent the Set-animal (mascot of the Egyptian god Sutekh) They are held by gods, priests, & pharaohs as a symbol of power.

The Set animal

In art, Set was mostly depicted as a mysterious and unknown creature, referred to by Egyptologists as the Set animal or Typhonic beast, with a curved snout, square ears, forked tail, and canine body, or sometimes as a human with only the head of the Set animal. Art refers to a diverse range of Human activities creations and expressions that are appealing to the Senses or Emotions of a human individual This is a partial list of Egyptologists. An Egyptologist is any Archaeologist, Historian, linguist, or Art historian who specializes in A snout is the protruding portion of an animal's face consisting of its nose mouth and jaw The Canidae (ˈkænədiː ′kanə′dē family is a part of the order Carnivora within the Mammals (Class Mammalia It has no complete resemblance to any known creature, although it does resemble a composite of an aardvark, a donkey, and a jackal, all of which are desert creatures. The Aardvark ( Orycteropus afer) ("Digging foot" is a medium-sized burrowing nocturnal Mammal native to Africa. The donkey or ass, Equus asinus, is a member of the Equidae or horse family and an odd-toed ungulate. A jackal (from Turkish çakal, via Persian shaghal ultimately from Sanskrit sṛgālaḥ) is a member of any of three The main species of aardvark present in ancient Egypt additionally had a reddish appearance (due to thin fur, which shows the skin beneath it). In some descriptions he has the head of a greyhound. The earliest known representation of Set comes from a tomb dating to the Naqada I phase of the Predynastic Period (circa 4000 BC–3500 BC), and the Set-animal is even found on a mace-head of the Scorpion King, a Protodynastic ruler. This article is about the Egyptian village See also Naqahdah for the fictional element from the Stargate setting The Predynastic Period of Egypt (prior to 3100 BC is traditionally the period between the Early Neolithic and the beginning of the Pharaonic monarchy beginning with King Events Start of Naqada culture in Egypt 4000 BC — Early Jomon period begins on the islands of Japan The 35th century BC in the Near East sees the gradual transition from the Chalcolithic to the Early Bronze Age. The ceremonial mace is a highly ornamented staff of metal and wood carried before a sovereign or other high official in civic ceremonies by a Mace-bearer, intended The Protodynastic Period of Egypt (generally dated 3200 BC - 3000 BC) refers to the period of time at the very end of the Predynastic Period.

Was ("power") scepters represent the Set-animal. Was ("power" scepters represent the Set-animal (mascot of the Egyptian god Sutekh) Was scepters were carried by gods, pharaohs, and priests, as a symbol of power, and in later use, control over the force of chaos (Set). The head and forked tail of the Set-animal are clearly present. Was scepters are often depicted in paintings, drawings, and carvings of gods, and remnants of real Was scepters have been found constructed of faience or wood. Was ("power" scepters represent the Set-animal (mascot of the Egyptian god Sutekh)

Conflict between Horus and Set

The myth of Set's conflict with Horus, Osiris and Isis appears in many Egyptian sources, including the Pyramid Texts, the Coffin Texts, the Shabaka Stone, inscriptions on the walls of the temple of Horus at Edfu, and various papyrus sources. Osiris ( Greek language, also Usiris; the Egyptian language name is variously transliterated Asar, Aser, Ausar, Ausir Isis is a goddess in Ancient Egyptian religious beliefs and is celebrated in their mythology as the ideal mother and wife patron of nature and magic friend of slaves sinners The Pyramid Texts are a collection of ancient Egyptian religious texts from the time of the Old Kingdom. The Coffin Texts are a collection of Ancient Egyptian funerary spells written on coffins beginning in the First Intermediate Period. The Shabaka Stone is a relic from the Twenty-fifth Dynasty of Egypt. Edfu (also spelt Idfu or in modern French as Edfou and known in antiquity as Behdet) is an Egyptian city located on the west bank Papyrus (/pəˈpaɪrəs/ (Rhymes -aɪrəs)is a thick paper-like material produced from the Pith of the papyrus plant Cyperus papyrus The Chester Beatty Papyrus No. Sir Alfred Chester Beatty (1875 – 19 January 1968) was a mining magnate and millionaire often called the "King of Copper " 1 contains the legend known as The Contention of Horus and Set. Classical authors also recorded the story, notably Plutarch's De Iside et Osiride. Classical antiquity (also the classical era or classical period) is a broad term for a long period of cultural History centered on the Mediterranean Lucius Mestrius Plutarchus ( Greek: Μέστριος Πλούταρχος c

These myths generally portray Osiris as a wise king and bringer of civilization, happily married to his sister Isis. Set was his envious younger brother, and he killed and dismembered Osiris. Isis reassembled Osiris' corpse and another god (in some myths Thoth and in others Anubis) embalmed him. For other meanings of "Thoth" or of "Djehuti" and similar see Thoth (disambiguation. Anubis is the Greek name for a Jackal -headed god associated with Mummification and the afterlife in Egyptian mythology. Embalming, in most modern Cultures is the Art and Science of temporarily preserving human remains to forestall Decomposition As the archetypal mummy, Osiris reigned over the Afterworld as judge of the dead. An archetype ( pronounced: /ˈɑːkɪtaɪp/ (Brit or /ˈɑrkɪtaɪp/ (Amer A mummy is a Corpse whose Skin and Flesh have been preserved by either intentional or Incidental exposure to Chemicals extreme

Osiris' son Horus was conceived by Isis with Osiris' corpse, or in some versions, only with pieces of his corpse. Horus naturally became the enemy of Set, and many myths describe their conflicts. In some of these myths Set is portrayed as Horus' older brother rather than uncle. In one of their fights Set gouged out Horus's left eye, which represented the moon; perhaps this myth served to explain why the moon is less bright than the sun.

The myth incorporated moral lessons for relationships between fathers and sons, older and younger brothers, and husbands and wives.

It has also been suggested that the myth may reflect historical events. According to the Shabaka Stone, Geb divided Egypt into two halves, giving Upper Egypt (the desert south) to Set and Lower Egypt (the region of the delta in the north) to Horus, in order to end their feud. Geb (pronunciation as such from the Greek period onwards formerly erroneously read as Seb) or Keb (in Egyptian originally Gebeb/Kebeb meaning probably Upper Egypt (صعيد مصر Sa'id Misr) is a narrow strip of land that extends from the cataract boundaries of modern-day Aswan to the area between Lower Egypt is the northern-most section of Egypt. It refers to the fertile Nile Delta region which stretches from the area between El-Aiyat and Zawyet However, according to the stone, in a later judgment Geb gave all Egypt to Horus. Interpreting this myth as a historical record would lead one to believe that Lower Egypt (Horus' land) conquered Upper Egypt (Set's land); but in fact Upper Egypt conquered Lower Egypt. So the myth cannot be simply interpreted. Several theories exist to explain the discrepancy. For instance, since both Horus and Set were worshiped in Upper Egypt prior to unification, perhaps the myth reflects a struggle within Upper Egypt prior to unification, in which a Horus-worshiping group subjected a Set-worshiping group. What is known is that during the Second Dynasty, there was a period in which the King Peribsen's name or Serekh - which had been surmounted by a Horus falcon in the First Dynasty - was for a time surmounted by a Set animal, suggesting some kind of religious struggle. The Second Dynasty of Ancient Egypt is often combined with the First dynasty under the group title Early Dynastic Period of Egypt. Seth-Peribsen was a Pharaoh during the Second dynasty of Egypt who ruled for seventeen years The serekh (ser-ik is a stylised rectangle which contained the Horus name of ancient Egyptian Pharaohs (they had five regal names each) The first dynasty of Ancient Egypt is often combined with the second dynasty under the group title Early Dynastic Period of Egypt. It was ended at the end of the Dynasty by Khasekhemwy who surmounted his Serekh with both a falcon of Horus and a Set animal, indicating some kind of compromise had been reached. Khasekhemwy (d 2686 BC sometimes spelled Khasekhemui) was the fifth and final Pharaoh of the Second dynasty of Egypt.

Regardless, once the two lands were united, Seth and Horus were often shown together crowning the new pharaohs, as a symbol of their power over both Lower and Upper Egypt. Pharaoh is the title given in modern parlance to the ancient Egyptian kings of all periods Queens of the 1st Dynasty bore the title "She Who Sees Horus and Set. The first dynasty of Ancient Egypt is often combined with the second dynasty under the group title Early Dynastic Period of Egypt. " The Pyramid Texts present the pharaoh as a fusion of the two deities. Evidently, pharaohs believed that they balanced and reconciled competing cosmic principles. Eventually the dual-god Horus-Set appeared, combining features of both deities (as was common in Egyptian theology, the most familiar example being Amun-Re).

Later Egyptians interpreted the myth of the conflict between Set and Osiris/Horus as an analogy for the struggle between the desert (represented by Set) and the fertilizing floods of the Nile (Osiris/Horus). The Nile (النيل, Ancient Egyptian iteru or Ḥ'pī, Coptic piaro or phiaro) is a major north-flowing River

Savior of Ra

As the Ogdoad system became more assimilated with the Ennead one, as a result of creeping increase of the identification of Atum as Ra, itself a result of the joining of Upper and Lower Egypt, Set's position in this became considered. In Egyptian mythology, the Ogdoad (Greek "οκτάδα" the number eight were eight deities worshipped in Hermopolis during what is called the Old For the neo-Platonist work by Plotinus see Enneads. For the Latin epic see Aeneid. Atum (alternatively spelled Tem, Temu, Tum, and Atem) is an important Deity in Egyptian mythology, whose cult centred Ra (pronounced Rah and sometimes as Rê, is an Ancient Egyptian sun god. With Horus as Ra's heir on Earth, Set, previously the chief god, for Lower Egypt, required an appropriate role as well, and so was identified as Ra's main hero, who fought Apep each night, during Ra's journey (as sun god) across the underworld. "Sun god" redirects here For the Ramsey Lewis album see Sun Goddess (album. In Egyptian mythology, Duat (or Tuat (also called Akert, Amenthes, or Neter-khertet) is the Underworld.

He was thus often depicted standing on the prow of Ra's night barque spearing Apep in the form of a serpent, turtle, or other dangerous water animals. A barque, barc, or bark is a type of sailing vessel History of the term The word barc appears to have come from Celtic languages Turtles are Reptiles of the Order Testudines (all living turtles belong to the Crown group Chelonia) most of Surprisingly, in some Late Period representations, such as in the Persian Period temple at Hibis in the Khargah Oasis, Set was represented in this role with a falcon's head, taking on the guise of Horus, despite the fact that Set was usually considered in quite a different position with regard to heroism. The Late Period of Egypt refers to the last flowering of native Egyptian rulers after the Third Intermediate Period from the 26th Saite Dynasty into Persian The Achaemenid Empire or Achaemenid Persian Empire ( haχɒmaneʃijɒn (558–330 BC was the first of the Persian Empires to rule over significant portions of El-Kharga' (meaning the outer oasis ( Arabic الخارجة is the southernmost of Egypt 's five western oases. A falcon (fɔlkən or fælkən is any Species of raptor in the Genus Falco.

This assimilation also led to Anubis being displaced, in areas where he was worshiped, as ruler of the underworld, with his situation being explained by his being the son of Osiris. As Isis represented life, Anubis' mother was identified instead as Nephthys. This led to an explanation in which Nephthys, frustrated by Set's lack of sexual interest in her, disguised herself as the more attractive Isis, but failed to gain Set's attention because he was infertile. Osiris mistook Nephthys for Isis and they had conceived Anubis resulting in Anubis' birth. In some later texts, after Set lost the connection to the desert, and thus infertility, Anubis was identified as Set's son, as Set is Nephthys' husband.

In the mythology, Set has a great many wives, including some foreign Goddesses, and several children. Some of the most notable wives (beyond Nephthys/Nebet Het) are Neith (with whom he is said to have fathered Sobek), Amtcheret (by whom he is said to have fathered Upuat - though Upuat is also said to be a son of Anubis or Osiris), Tawaret, Hetepsabet (one of the Hours, a feminine was-beast headed goddess who is variously described as wife or daughter of Set), and the two Canaanite deities Anat and Astarte, both of whom are equally skilled in love and war - two things which Set himself was famous for. In Egyptian mythology, Neith (also known as Nit, Net, and Neit) was an early goddess in the Egyptian pantheon. Sobek (also called Sebek, Sochet, Sobk, Sobki, Soknopais, and in Greek, Suchos) was the deification of crocodiles In late Egyptian mythology, Wepwawet ( Hieroglyphic WP-W3WT; also rendered Upuaut, Wep-wawet, Wepawet, and Ophois Anat, also ‘Anat is a major northwest Semitic goddess ‘Anat in Ugarit In the Ugaritic Ba‘al / Hadad cycle ‘Anat Astarte (from Greek Ἀστάρτη ( Astártē) is the name of a Goddess as known from Northwestern Semitic regions cognate in name origin

Set in the Second Intermediate and Ramesside Periods

During the Second Intermediate Period, a group of Asiatic foreign chiefs known as the Hyksos (literally, "rulers of foreigns lands") gained the rulership of Egypt, and ruled the Nile Delta, from Avaris. The Second Intermediate Period marks a period when Ancient Egypt once again fell into disarray between the end of the Middle Kingdom, and the start of the New The Hyksos ( Egyptian heqa khasewet, "foreign rulers" Greek,, Arabic,) were an Asiatic people who invaded the eastern Nile The Nile Delta ( Arabic: دلتا النيل) is the delta formed in Northern Egypt ( Lower Egypt) where the Nile River spreads Avaris ( Egyptian: ħt wʕrt Hatwaret, Greek: αυαρις Auaris) located at Tell ed-Dab'a, was the ancient capital of the They chose Set, originally Lower Egypt's chief god, the god of foreigners and the god they found most similar to their own chief god, as their patron, and so Set became worshiped as the chief god once again. When Ahmose overthrew the Hyksos and expelled them from Egypt, Egyptian attitudes towards foreigners became xenophobic, and royal propaganda discredited the period of Hyksos rule. Xenophobia is an intense and/or irrational dislike and sometimes fear of people from other countries Nonetheless, the Set cult at Avaris flourished, and the Egyptian garrison of Ahmose stationed there because part of the priesthood of Set at Avaris.

The founder of the nineteenth dynasty, Ramesses I came from a military family from Avaris with strong ties to the priesthood of Set. The Eighteenth Nineteenth, and Twentieth Dynasties of ancient Egypt are often combined under the group title New Kingdom. Menpehtyre Ramesses I (traditional English Ramesses or Ramses) was the founding Pharaoh of Ancient Egypt 's 19th dynasty. Several of the Ramesside kings were named for Set, most notably Seti I (literally, "man of Set") and Setnakht (literally, "Set is strong"). Menmaatre Seti I (also called Sethos I after the Greeks) was a Pharaoh of Ancient Egypt ( Nineteenth dynasty of Egypt) the son of Ramesses Userkhaure-setepenre Setnakhte (or Setnakht) was the first Pharaoh ( 1190 BC &ndash 1186 BC) of the Twentieth Dynasty of the In addition, one of the garrisons of Ramesses II held Set as its patron deity, and Ramesses II erected the so-called Four Hundred Years' Stele at Pi-Ramesses, commemorating the 400 year anniversary of the Set cult in the Delta. Avaris ( Egyptian: ħt wʕrt Hatwaret, Greek: αυαρις Auaris) located at Tell ed-Dab'a, was the ancient capital of the

Set also became associated with foreign gods during the New Kingdom, particularly in the Delta. The New Kingdom, sometimes referred to as the Egyptian Empire, is the period in Ancient Egyptian history between the 16th century BC and Set was also identified by the Egyptians with the Hittite deity Teshub, who was a storm god like Set. The Hittites were an ancient Anatolian people who spoke a language of the Anatolian branch of the Indo-European language family and established Teshub (also written Teshup) was the Hurrian god of sky and storm

Demonization of Set

Set was one of the earliest deities, with a strong following in Upper Egypt. Originally highly regarded throughout Kemet as the god of the desert, a political faction inspired an initial disparaging of Set's name and reputation. Kemet was originally split into two kingdoms: Upper ruled by Horus (and later Ra), Lower by Set. Ra (pronounced Rah and sometimes as Rê, is an Ancient Egyptian sun god. Set's followers resisted a unification of the Upper and Lower kingdoms of Egypt by the followers of Horus/Ra (with the followers of Osiris and Isis). This political split was echoed in the Osiris & Isis myth, and subsequent battle with Horus. The followers of Horus thus denigrated Set as chaotic and evil. By the 22nd Dynasty, Set was equated with his old enemy, Apep, and his images on temples were replaced with those of Sobek or Thoth. Sobek (also called Sebek, Sochet, Sobk, Sobki, Soknopais, and in Greek, Suchos) was the deification of crocodiles For other meanings of "Thoth" or of "Djehuti" and similar see Thoth (disambiguation. Most modern popular misconceptions of Set come from Plutarch's secondary source interpretations of Set (via the writings of Herodotus et. Lucius Mestrius Plutarchus ( Greek: Μέστριος Πλούταρχος c Herodotus of Halicarnassus ( Greek: Hēródotos Halikarnāsseús) was a Greek Historian who lived in the 5th century BC ( 484 BC&ndash al. ), long after Set's demonization (circa 100 A. D. , Roman Period in Egypt).

Set was further demonized immediately after the Hyksos Period, the evidence from the Nineteenth Dynasty proves that this is a more complex picture.

Most scholars date the demonization of Set to after Egypt's conquest by the Persian ruler Cambyses II. The Persian Empire was a series of Iranian empires that ruled over the Iranian plateau, the original Persian homeland and beyond in Western Asia Set, who had traditionally been the god of foreigners, thus also became associated with foreign oppressors, including the Achaemenid Persians, Ptolemaic dynasty, and Romans. The Achaemenid Empire or Achaemenid Persian Empire ( haχɒmaneʃijɒn (558–330 BC was the first of the Persian Empires to rule over significant portions of layout and formatting it should ensure no clashes with the top of the infobox The Ptolemaic dynasty (sometimes also known as the Lagids, from the name of Ptolemy I's father Lagus) was a Hellenistic Macedonian royal family The Roman Empire was the post-Republican phase of the ancient Roman civilization, characterised by an autocratic form of government and large territorial Indeed, it was during the time that Set was particularly vilified, and his defeat by Horus widely celebrated.

Set's negative aspects were emphasized during this period. Set was the killer of Osiris in Legend of Osiris and Isis, having hacked Osiris' body into pieces and dispersed it so that he could not be resurrected. The Legend of Osiris and Isis, concerning the Deities of Egyptian mythology Osiris, Isis, Horus and Set, became one of This article concerns itself with Jesus Christ Christian, Islamic and other religious interpretations of resurrection in general If Set' ears are fins, as some have interpreted, the head of the Set-animal resembles the Oxyrhynchus fish, and so it was said that as a final precaution, an Oxyrhynchus fish ate Osiris' penis. Oxyrhynchus (Ὀξύρρυγχος "sharp-nosed" ancient Egyptian Pr-Medjed; Coptic Pemdje; modern Egyptian Arabic The penis (plural penises, penes In addition, Set was often depicted as one of the creatures that the Egyptians most feared, crocodiles, and hippopotamus. A crocodile is any Species belonging to the family Crocodylidae (sometimes classified instead as the Subfamily Crocodylinae) The hippopotamus ( Hippopotamus amphibius) from the Greek ἱπποπόταμος ( hippopotamos, ιππος hippos meaning "horse"

The Greeks later linked Set with Typhon because both were evil forces, storm deities and sons of the Earth that attacked the main gods. In Greek mythology, Typhon ( Ancient Greek:, Tuphōn) also Typheus / Typhoeus ( Tuphōeus) Typhaon (

Nevertheless, throughout this period, in some outlying regions of Egypt Set was still regarded as the heroic chief deity; for example, there was a temple dedicated to Set in the village of Mut al-Kharab, in the Dakhlah Oasis.

Temples

Set was worshipped at the temples of Ombos (Nubt near Naqada) and Ombos (Nubt near Kom Ombo), at Oxyrhynchus in upper Egypt, and also in part of the Fayyum area. Faiyum ( Arabic: الفيوم Coptic:) is a city in Middle Egypt and the capital of the Faiyum Governorate.

More specifically, Set was worshipped in the relatively large metropolitan (yet provincial) locale of Sepermeru, especially during the Rammeside Period [1]. Sepermeru (or Spermeru was a town of ancient Egypt situated roughly midway between the city of Heracleopolis to the north and Oxyrhynchus to the south in what was There, Seth was honored with an important temple called the "House of Seth, Lord of Sepermeru. " One of the epithets of this town was "gateway to the desert," which fits well with Seth's role as a deity of the frontier regions of ancient Egypt. At Sepermeru, Set's temple-enclosure included a small secondary shrine called "The House of Seth, Powerful-Is-His-Mighty-Arm," and Ramesses II himself built (or modified) a second land-owning temple for Nephthys, called "The House of Nephthys of Ramesses-Meriamun. " [2]. There is no question, however, that the two temples of Seth and Nephthys in Sepermeru were under separate administration, each with its own holdings and prophets [3]. Moreover, another moderately sized temple of Seth is noted for the nearby town of Pi-Wayna [4]. The close association of Seth temples with temples of Nephthys in key outskirt-towns of this milieu is also reflected in the likelihood that there existed another "House of Seth" and another "House of Nephthys" in the town of Su, at the entrance to the Fayyum [5].

Perhaps most intriguing in terms of the pre-Dynasty XX connections between temples of Set and nearby temples of his consort Nephthys is the evidence of Papyrus Bologna, which preserves a most irritable complaint lodged by one Pra'em-hab, Prophet of the "House of Seth" in the now-lost town of Punodjem ("The Sweet Place"). In the text of Papyrus Bolgona, the harried Pra'em-hab laments undue taxation for his own temple (The House of Seth) and goes on to lament that he is also saddled with responsibility for: "the ship, and I am likewise also responsible for the House of Nephthys, along with the remaining heap of district temples" [6].

It is unfortunate, perhaps, that we have means of knowing the particular theologies of the closely connected Set and Nephthys temples in these districts--it would be interesting to learn, for example, the religious tone of temples of Nephthys located in such proximity to those of Seth, especially given the seemingly contrary Osirian loyalties of Seth's consort-goddess. When, by Dynasty XX, the "demonization" of Seth was ostensibly inaugurated, Seth was either eradicated or increasingly pushed to the outskirts, Nephthys flourished as part of the usual Osirian pantheon throughout Egypt, even obtaining a Late Period status as tutelary goddess of her own Nome (UU Nome VII, "Hwt-Sekhem"/Diospolis Parva) and as the chief goddess of the Mansion of the Sistrum in that district [7]. [8] [9] [10].

Yet, it is perhaps most telling that Seth's cultus persisted with astonishing potency even into the latter days of ancient Egyptian religion, in outlying (but important) places like Kharga, Dakhlah, Deir el-Hagar, Mut, Kellis, etc. Indeed, in these places, Seth was considered "Lord of the Oasis/Town" and Nephthys was likewise venerated as "Mistress of the Oasis" at Seth's side, in his temples [11] esp. the dedication of a Nephthys-cult statue). Meanwhile, Nephthys was also venerated as "Mistress" in the Osirian temples of these districts, as part of the specifically Osirian college. [12]. It would appear that the ancient Egyptians in these locales had little problem with the paradoxical dualities inherent in venerating Seth and Nephthys as juxtaposed against Osiris, Isis & Nephthys. Further study of the enormously important role of Seth in ancient Egyptian religion (particularly after Dynasty XX) is imperative.

The power of Seth's cult in the mighty (yet outlying) city of Avaris from the Second Intermediate Period through the Ramesside Period cannot be denied. There he reigned supreme as a deity both at odds and in league with threatening foreign powers, and in this case, his chief consort-goddesses were the Phoenicians Anat and Astarte, with Nephthys merely one of the harem.

In Popular Culture

See also

References

  1. ^ cf. Sauneron, Priests of Ancient Egypt, p. 181
  2. ^ Katary, Land Tenure in the Rammesside Period, 1989 ,p. 216
  3. ^ Katary, Land Tenure, pg. 220
  4. ^ Katary, Land Tenure, p. 216
  5. ^ Gardiner, Papyrus Wilbour Commentary, S28, pp. 127-128
  6. ^ P. Bologna 1094, 5,8-7, 1
  7. ^ Sauneron, Beitrage Bf. 6, 46
  8. ^ C. Traunecker, Le temple d'El-Qal'a. Relevés des scènes et des textes. I' Sanctuaire central. Sanctuaire nord. Salle des offrandes 1 à 112
  9. ^ . P. Wilson, 'A Ptolemaic Lexikon: A Lexicographical Study of the Texts in the Temple of Edfu', OLA 78, 1997
  10. ^ P. Collombert, "Les stèles tardives de Hout-sekhem (Hout-sekhem et le septième nome de Haute-Égypte II)", RdE 48 (1997), pp. 15-70, pl. I-VII
  11. ^ Essays on Ancient Egypt in Honor of Herman te Velde, pp. 234-237
  12. ^ Essays, 234-237

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